THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Monday, 12 June 2017

Yep, I did it again! I got fake nails and my real ones look like crap now. I don’t know why I never learn my lesson. The thing is that I hate doing my nails. The nail drying process sucks the life out of me! I’ve tried Seche Vite and really don’t get the hype around it, so because I don’t like doing my nails, I always end up getting acrylics. But I must admit that when I take care of my natural nails, they do grow quite long and are actually pretty healthy. As of right now I’m over the fake nail look, I want natural, classy nails, so I went to get my fake ones removed. As you'll be able to see from the pictures, they’re looking absolutely awful! I get goosebumps just by looking at them. But I’ve been through this process many times before, and here are some tips and products that help me get them back to shape.

Keep them short.

Trying to grow out your nails when they’re in a fragile state is pointless, they’ll break and get caught on every piece of clothing you own, not to mention your hair when you try to wash it. Personally my nails go a lot longer without breaking when I file them into a round/almond shape rather than square, but the lady that removed my acrylics filed them into a square shape, so I’ll see how that goes. I guess that as long as the edges are smooth, they shouldn’t get caught on anything.

Don’t neglect your cuticles.

I always find that having healthy-looking cuticles changes the whole appearance of your hands. I have an awful habit of picking the skin around my nails, so one thing I can’t go without is cuticle oil. Currently I’m using one from Orly. I like to rub this onto my cuticles a couple of times a day, but I go quite heavy handed at night before bed.

(Please excuse how VILE they look!)

Keep your hands moisturised.

My hands are ugly, ok? Haha! But when I take care of them they become a little prettier to look at. An at home treatment I like to do while I watch an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, is to mix olive and coconut oil in a small bowl, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and then let my nails soak in it. I then rub the oil all over my hands and put gloves over the top and leave it on as an overnight treatment. Works. A. Treat. You’re welcome.

Use a nail strengthener.

There are many in the market but the only one I strongly recommend is OPI Nail Envy. I've used Nail Envy for four years and it is just incredible! It helped me grow my nails to a length I had never been able to before. It made my nails really strong, they could hit the hardest surface and not break. But of course, you can’t apply this and expect miracles to happen, you need to make sure you’re doing all the other steps, especially keeping your nails free from any jagged edges. A very recent purchase is the Nails Inc After Gel Hangover Cure Treatment. It’s meant to be a 10 in 1 treatment for nails that have been damaged by gel manicures or nails that are in a fragile state. Any guesses as to why I bought it? I’ll see how I get on with this and update you in a future post.

Help them grow.

One of my favourite nail treatments is the Nutra Nails Nail Growth Serum. If you're going to buy anything I mention in this post, it has to be this, and Nail Envy. I can’t tell you how much of a difference this makes. It sounds very gimmicky and initially I was just using it because I liked the idea of it and it felt nice giving my nails a massage, but then I started to see results. If your nails have a hard time growing or if like me you’ve had fake nails on and you’re in a rush to get your natural healthy nails back, this is something you absolutely need.

Without wanting to state the obvious, make sure you’re taking vitamins and eating healthily (take you own advice Sandra!), as this will also help. Sooo.. there it is, a little post to help all you ladies with nail problems. Hope you’re all having a great start to the week.